


Hettir Darasuum

by sonny93



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: Knights of the Old Republic (Video Games), Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic (Video Game)
Genre: Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Femslash, Jedi Civil War, Mandalorian Culture, Mandalorian Wars, Mando'a, Romance, Sith Empire, Slow Burn, Yuri
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-16
Updated: 2020-09-17
Packaged: 2021-03-07 03:09:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 19,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26499892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sonny93/pseuds/sonny93
Summary: The Mandalorian Wars have been raging across the galaxy. However, the Republic finally appears to have broken the tide, pushing the Mando'a back towards the Outer Rim. On the jungle moon of Dxun a fierce battle is underway, led by Jedi General Meetra Surik. Meanwhile a cunning plan has been put in place that could finally lead to the end of the war.
Relationships: Female Jedi Exile/Female Revan, Female Revan/Bastila Shan
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	1. Episode I: Chapter 1

**Hettir Darasuum (Burn Eternal)**

**Brief Synopsis:**  
  
_The Mandalorian Wars have been raging across the galaxy. However, the Republic finally appears to have broken the tide, pushing the Mando’a back towards the Outer Rim. On the jungle moon of Dxun a fierce battle is underway, led by Jedi General Meetra Surik. Meanwhile a cunning plan has been put in place that could finally lead to the end of the war._  
  
**Chapter 1**

Another terrific sonic boom sounded to her right, west of her current location, worming its way through the dense jungle. She had lost count of the number of times she had heard its roar, coming from both near and far. This one, caused by a mine being triggered by an unfortunate victim, could not have been more than 100 meters away. Even from that distance the sound was resounding: or at least it had been. What had started as intense pain from previous detonations had become a slight ringing sensation in her ears. She could only assume that she was becoming accustomed to it, or the mines were starting to cause permanent damage to her hearing.  
  
She did ponder at times about how much things had changed for her in these past few years. It did not seem long ago that she would have been in the tedious comfort of the Jedi Academy on Dantooine, possibly helping to train one of the younglings there. She recalled one boy, possibly no more than ten years of age at the time, who she had attempted to pass on her knowledge of how bonds in Force could strengthen a group of Jedi as a whole. The boy, Mical if she recalled correctly, had a difficult time understanding the concepts: however, she did suspect this was more likely due to him being a ten-year-old that would rather be doing something more fun. Who was she to blame him?  
  
However, rather than being inside the calming walls of the Enclave, she was trudging her way through the thick flora of the jungle moon of Dxun. She had spent the last three days working her way through this alien landscape with a large battalion of men, fighting for their lives against Mandalorian sharp shooters, the local wildlife and the thousands of deadly traps the Mandalorians had planted all over this part of the moon.  
  
Meetra had lost count of the number of her men she had lost in these past three days. Her command had been already been thinned greatly following the initial, and very long, invasion of Dxun, with these three days simply trying to finish the rest of them off. Meetra was not surprised at the numbers she had lost as she had been well aware of what they were up against. The Mandalorian forces had had years of preparation for any kind of invasion force and the men that were stationed here had likely learnt the land like the back of their hands. However, like Revan, she knew how important taking back Onderon and its moon would be to the war effort. Not only were they a strategically important location to the war effort, more importantly conquering Onderon and Dxun would likely improve morale enormously within the Republic forces. She had heard talk amongst Republic troops following Onderon’s liberation about how the Battle for Dxun would be the deciding factor of this war. Whilst they were not completely wrong, conquering the moon would likely help the Republic forces greatly.  
  
“Everyone take five” Meetra ordered to the company of troops with her.  
  
They all needed a moment, however short that may be. Whilst no place was safe, the Force was not signifying any imminent danger at this specific time. She watched around her as some troops took this opportunity to have something quick to eat or smoke, with others taking the opportunity to get off of their feet. Meetra took the time to try and centre herself, something which had become increasingly difficult to do as the Mandalorian Wars progressed. Mediation, in particular, was now a source of frustration rather than a means of calming her mind: a mind that was too focused on the war effort to find any measure of peace and serenity. She could remember the friends in this war she had lost: people she had known for as long as she could remember and others she had made during the heat of battle. She now had very few left and even those few she felt were beginning to drift away.  
  
Revan was the one that sprung to mind when thinking of this. Although as the spearhead of the entire Republic war effort Meetra could forgive her for having little time for her. Whilst not her real name, the title she had taken seemed to have stuck and almost everyone referred to her as such now. Meetra recalled when the two had met whilst both were still Padawan’s. Revan had been travelling with her Jedi Master to the Jedi Enclave on Dantooine. Even at that young age, Meetra already had the ability to form attachments and bonds in the Force very easily with others: but Revan had been something else entirely. It was difficult not to notice her presence. Whilst she was strikingly beautiful, with long wavy black hair, piercing blue eyes, unblemished pale skin and an athletic build; it was Revan’s appearance in the Force that had been particularly prominent. It had been noticeable as soon as she had arrived on the planet. Meetra could only describe her as a swirling mass of the Force, all centred on one person: as if a supernova was just waiting to be unleashed from a star. Meetra did not know if her ability to form bonds had led to her attempting to latch on to someone so obviously powerful in the Force, but the two had formed a quick friendship nonetheless.  
  
In person and even at that early age Revan had been extremely charismatic. She seemed to know just what to say to put someone at ease or, more often than not, to get exactly what she wanted out of someone whilst making the other person feel good about it. This had gotten the two into quite a bit of trouble at the time, including an incident where one of the farmers on Dantooine had begun to believe his home was haunted by the ghost of a small Rancor. During the war, Meetra had witnessed first-hand on many occasions how this skill had developed, persuading leaders of Worlds to sacrifice their planets for the Republic, Admiral’s in the fleet to give up their commands and countless men and women to join them in their fight. Meetra smirked at the thought. She was on this moon, fighting through a horrid jungle, likely because she had been on the receiving end of Revan’s charisma.  
  
She could go on and on about all of Revan’s seemingly endless qualities, qualities that had led to a fair few of the Republic to view her as far more than the leader that was currently spearheading the war effort. Many, in particular the common soldiers, had begun to see her as almost a mythic creature. No longer a person, rather a symbol of all they were all fighting for. Revan knew this was the case and used it to her advantage, in particular utilising the mask she now wore as a symbol for everyone to rally behind. Although the mask did hold some personal significance too, and Revan had told her about the Mandalorian woman who had previously warn it and had been killed trying to stand up against the butchery she had witnessed on Cathar.  
  
Those working closer to Revan had developed other kinds of feelings towards her, some coming to respect her skills in combat and her tactical expertise, valuing her friendship and others whose interests were far more romantic. As far as Meetra was aware none of these interests had ever been returned, although it would not be her place to comment especially given her own unique situation. Having looked up to and being good friends prior to the war, Meetra had always held some level of attraction towards her. Revan taking up the mantel to help save lives against the Mandalorians had only strengthened her appeal. Their relationship had become taken a strange turn during the start of the Revanchist movement. It had begun following a battle that had not gone particularly well. Meetra had just returned to Revan’s flagship at the time following her first front line battle, meaning she was already extremely on edge. If she recalled correctly Revan had been very frustrated with a portion of the leadership of the fleet, and the battle had been lost because of there unwillingness to follow her strategy. For one reason or another, the two of them had ended up in a heated debate, which had ultimately led to an incredible night of stress relief. They had, on a few occasions, repeated this arrangement but Meetra was never quite sure if Revan had ever felt any romantic feelings towards her. She also did not know if any others were as lucky as she had been to share their leader’s bed, all she did know is she did feel a pang of jealousy when thinking about such things.  
  
However, as the war dragged on their relationship had become more distant. At first Meetra had just written it off as a by-product of the war, but now she was beginning to think that this war was beginning to have very negative consequences on them. It was not just Revan, herself or their relationship that she was noticing changes for: other Jedi as a well were beginning to change. Of course it was understandable that this war was going to affect everyone to different degrees, but changes were more prominent with the Revanchists. It made sense to Meetra from a logical perspective. The Jedi were, after all, usually raised in largely peaceful environments where attachments were mostly discouraged. These people were then thrust into a hectic environment, forming seemingly everlasting bonds with comrades in arms, which would then swiftly be ripped apart. Whilst this could change anyone, most of the Jedi that had joined the war effort were still relatively young and likely completely unprepared. Meetra had noticed that the Jedi which had come to aid the Republic with the intentions of defending the innocent, were now fighting to avenge their deceased friends and to wipe out the Mandalorians for good.  
  
Even Meetra had begun to feel herself being pulled ever further down this dark path. Her affinity to form bonds with others had not helped matters as she could feel the deaths of her friends far more so than the average Jedi. It had become so much of a problem that Revan had begun to rotate Meetra amongst different battalions in the hopes of stopping the bonds from forming. However it had been of no use in the end, with Meetra simply forming the bonds too quickly for rotation within the Republic military to be of any effect. Instead she had come to accept the deaths she felt with coldness that she believed members of the Jedi Council would be proud of.  
  
A sudden spike in the Force brought Meetra out of her musings, alerting her to possible danger. She quickly shouted out for everyone to be alert, before informing them to continue their advance. As she looked upwards through the dense trees to see the local sun beginning to disappear as evening set in, she realised that she did not need the Force to tell her that tonight was going to be another very long night. 

* * *

  
Another man let out a scream that chilled her to the bone. Turning to her right she saw a powerful blaster shot had hit him in the stomach, but before she could hope to aid him she watched as another shot landed square between his eyes, the force of which knocking his body backwards. A second later, to her left, there was a small explosion caused by an enemy grenade. The three soldiers that had been standing too close to the explosion had not faired well, all dead or seriously injured. The fragments of the grenade sent shrapnel in all directions, including towards Meetra, but she managed to direct them away from herself with the Force.  
  
It had been like this for the past hour. The Mandalorians were using every last weapon they had left in the arsenal, already aware that they were going to lose but also hoping to be involved and killed with honour in a battle that would be remembered forever. The Republic had managed to breach the walls of their main encampment in two areas, only one of which the Mandalorians were currently aware of. Meetra and her forces were currently hitting the Mandalorians head on through the main breach in the encampment, acting as a distraction while the other team had snuck their way through the base. The team of six were working to help however they could, already managing to disable all of the Mandalorians Anti-Aircraft defences. This combined with the Republic securing victory in the air and space around the planet meant that these Mandalorians were now all alone with no hope of retreat. Not that retreat was something the Mandalorians understood, at least for the sake of simply preserving their own lives; rather they were far more interested in taking as many of the Republic soldiers as they could to the grave with them. However, most of their forces were very well protected within the sturdy buildings, taking shots from the small through them. It was making returning fire extremely difficult for the Republic.  
  
Meetra blocked another blaster bolt, this one almost taking her by surprise. Looking slightly upwards and to her left, on the top of one of the buildings, she spotted the slight reflection of a sniper’s scope. The Mandalorian quickly attempted to shoot her again, foolishly on their part as Meetra was now aware of their location. Meetra deflected the shot back with utmost precision, killing them with their own shot. The soldier had likely been quite inexperienced when it came to fighting Jedi, or possibly did not expect her to be able to deflect a shot as powerful as a sniper blast back at them.  
  
Another explosion sounded to her left, this one looking as if it had been caused by another mine of some kind as it had been muffled slightly. Bodies littered the floor around where a small crater had formed, but catching her attention was a Republic soldier that stood nearby. Even from this distance he looked young, possibly no more than eighteen although he could possibly be even younger. Meetra had discovered a number of people in the Republic army which had lied about their age in order to join. For instance she had come across a Rodian pilot, an extremely good one, who was only fourteen: two years before the age Rodian’s were considered adults. She had come to accept that there would likely be people under-aged, a lot of whom had lost their families to the Mandalorians. This soldier was standing motionless, looking at the spot where the blast from the mine had originated from and the corpses that were littered around it. Meetra would not have been at all surprised if they had been his friends. Gradually she made her way towards him, deflecting blaster shots when she needed to. Once she got closer to him she growled loudly at him, hoping it would bring him back to the present, but he remained completely frozen. Again she shouted and the boy finally came to, looking at her with a look of pure terror.  
  
“Get to those crates over there” she ordered, motioning towards the mountain of supply crates further to their left. She knew he would be of no use in this battle now and hoped the cover would save his life. The boy nodded in response, slack jawed, but still did not move.  
  
“Go!” she yelled; giving the boy the slightest nudge with the Force that almost knocked him of his feet. However, it did the trick and the boy ran as fast as his shaking legs could carry him.  
  
Focusing back on the task ahead, Meetra looked over the battlefield in front of her. The bulk of her forces were currently positioned just inside the walls of the Mandalorians encampment, set up in makeshift cover and whatever else could protect them. In front of their position was a large clearing that was a kill zone, with the Mandalorians on either side secure within the buildings that flanked this clearing. Even though this was the case, Meetra had ordered some of her forces to advance through it on occasion, knowing they would all likely be killed, but needing to use them as a distraction so that the Mandalorians did not suspect something was amiss until it was too late. They had to give the group that had snuck behind enemy lines enough of a chance as they could. Whilst they had been ordered to sabotage where possible, Revan had also given them a far more important task: to capture whatever remained of the Mandalorian leadership. In order to do so their plan had to work like clockwork.  
  
Just as this thought had crossed her mind, Meetra’s personal communicator beeped loudly three times. This was the signal that they had all been waiting for, indicating that everything was in place and as a brief warning to Meetra’s team of what was about to follow. She watched as the rest of her men, who had also gotten the signal, began to stop firing and stay behind their makeshift cover. Some of them also backtracked from their forward positions ahead of the cover, falling under fire during their retreat. Once the last of them had made it back to cover she signalled back with her communicator with four long bees giving the ‘all clear’ signal to proceed.  
  
A moment later several muffled explosions begun to sound from around the base. The explosions were largely coming from within the buildings themselves, were the last of the Mandalorian forces were contained. The team that had planted them had done so anywhere they could that could and, from the sounds of things, had done an extremely good job. Whilst the armoured nature of the buildings had made them extremely well protected from outside attacks, it also meant that whatever explosive force that started within would remain contained in their walls and cause even more destruction to anything inside. The explosions gradually died down before being followed by five long beeps: the signal that the mission was successful and remaining Mandalorian leadership had been captured.  
  
The surviving Republic forces let out a relieved cheer in response as Meetra sighed with relief. She had never felt as drained as she did now, the adrenaline which had been pumping through her body now fading away. Meetra took a few steps back to lean against the wall of the Mandalorian encampment, feeling as though she needed the support to keep from falling. Scanning over the remaining Republic forces she could see that very few of them remained, possibly only one in twenty of them had survived the past three days. Her eyes eventually fell on the crates to her left, spotting the boy from earlier slumped, face down, over one of the crates with the scorch marks of blaster fire littering his body. A quick flash of anger made its way through her: anger at herself for not being able to save him, at the Mandalorians for killing him and at the war as a whole. She quickly pushed it away however, likely adding to the mountain building inside her, replacing it with sorrow at yet another young person that the war had claimed.  
  
A shift in the Force brought her focus elsewhere. At first it was a subtle thing, before steadily growing into something extremely powerful that she could recognise. Looking to the skies above the ruined encampment she spotted three ships, two Republic fighters escorting a shuttle, entering into orbit before coming downwards towards the clearing in the base. As the fighters shot quickly over head, the shuttle began its landing cycle: its gear extending from within. The shuttle was worse for wear, with the tell tale signs of battle littering its surface. As the shuttle set down with a clunk, its landing gear sinking into the moist earth slightly, the gangway opened with an almighty hiss as the pressure within equalised with that of the humid air outside. Ominous smoke bellowed from inside, followed by a figure encased in black and dark purple robes and armour, stepping through the smoke with purpose flanked by two soldiers. The robes hid the short, feminine figure of Revan beneath. Meetra watched as she made her way with resolve towards a man that had appeared from one of the Mandalorian buildings ahead. She decided to follow after recognising the man as Captain Hintu, who had led the operation to sneak behind enemy lines and upon seeing Revan snapped to a salute.  
  
“The survivors?” Revan requested, her voice heavily distorted by the mask she wore, giving it a mechanical quality.  
  
“Five Mando’s including General Craikk” Hintu responded matter-of-factly, his stern and scarred face pulled into what Meetra assumed was a grin. Meetra could almost sense the smirk that Revan gave in response at the sound of the General’s name.  
  
“Very good work, Captain” Revan responded, moving towards the building Hintu had just appeared from. Captain Hintu and Meetra followed, entering the building to find the five Mandalorians on their knees with a number of Republic soldiers from the party that had snuck into the base with their weapons pointed at them. Meetra knew how much their capture meant to Revan and the war effort. Capturing Mandalorians, in particular those of higher rank, was extremely difficult and Revan had tried on a number of occasions to do so, never succeeding until today. Usually they were either killed during the battles themselves, fighting to the bitter end rather than surrendering, or somehow managed to commit suicide if they were initially captured. Craikk had not had the chance to do either, as he had been captured and bound too quickly.  
  
Revan walked right over to the man. His helmet had been removed, showing the scarred and grizzled features of a man in his mid-forties. Craikk appeared to have been blinded in one of his eyes, a scar running across the skin surrounding a cybernetic right eye. Even on his knees, he was only slightly shorter than Revan was standing and Meetra could only imagine how threatening he would appear on the battlefield. Revan simply stared at him for a moment, likely studying him through the Force, whilst Craikk scowled right back at her.  
  
“How do you want to do this?” Revan asked, directing her question at Craikk. The man said nothing in response. “You have two options: either you tell me what I want to know and I’ll let you die on the battlefield; or I take what I want to know by force, and you’ll be discarded”. Craikk let out a long, menacing, chuckle in response to Revan’s threat.  
  
“First: where is Mandalore?” Revan continued.  
  
“Dantooine” one of the other Mandalorians drawled sarcastically with a smirk, with the others sniggering at the response. Revan turned to look at the one that had spoken quickly before looking back to Craikk.  
  
“I’m not sure you understand how vital it is that you all cooperate” she answered smootly, using the Force to snap the man’s neck with the Force and killing him instantly. The man had not even managed to let out a sound before falling forwards face first. The other Mandalorians grunted various levels of abuse at Revan upon seeing this, except Craikk who continued to scowl at Revan.  
  
“Oh, I think I do” Craikk explained, his baritone voice sounding amused “I’d just rather make you work for it”.  
  
There was a moment’s pause before Revan responded: “Very well”.  
  
Meetra could feel a shift in the Force almost immediately, a warning that something unpleasant was about to take place. None of the others in the room noticed any change, the Mandalorians included, as she was the only one open to the Force: all except Craikk. The smirk he had worn had suddently vanished and in its place an expression of confusion. This was followed by a grimace and a low groan. His breathing started to become erratic as he continued to groan louder and louder in pain. Meetra could now see what Revan was doing: she was using the Force to tear his mind apart piece by piece in order to get the information she wanted. Meetra looked on in shock as her friend continued to rip apart Craikk’s very being, feeling the fear and pain rolling off of him, which she could feel Revan was using to fuel the ability she was using even further. The other Mandalorians had begun to kick up a fuss as they realised Revan was doing something to their leader, one of them shouting about her “dirty magic”. The dark side of the Force was surrounding Revan now, all of it directed at Craikk’s mind. His groans of pain grew louder and louder into a crescendo before all of a sudden they stopped. His expression had grown vacant, devoid of life, and Meetra could feel the same within the Force.  
  
“Captain” Revan spoke, causing Meetra to jump slightly. Hintu stepped forward in response. “We have what we need, call the troops back from Dxun immediately”.  
  
Turning to leave, and without a second glance back, Revan killed the remaining Mandalorians instantly without even a flick of her finger. Meetra simply stared at the now dead Mandalorians, unable to believe how ruthless Revan had behaved with unarmed prisoners. She had seen Revan and other Jedi that had joined the war kill before, but she had never seen Revan use the dark side so readily. Looking towards the entrance she saw that Revan, stood still and simply looking at her as if she knew exactly what she was thinking. It lasted a few moments before Revan continued outside. Meetra let out a breath that she did not know she was holding, but promised herself that she would speak to Revan about what she had just witnessed. She needed to know if her friend was still under the mask.

* * *


	2. Episode I: Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Mandalorian Wars have been raging across the galaxy. However, the Republic finally appears to have broken the tide, pushing the Mando’a back towards the Outer Rim. On the jungle moon of Dxun a fierce battle is underway, led by Jedi General Meetra Surik. Meanwhile a cunning plan has been put in place that could finally lead to the end of the war.

The ride back to Revan’s adopted flagship the Vast Veldt, named in honour of Cathar, had been extremely tense. Apart from the odd piece of chatter from the flight crew no one had spoken a word, with Revan standing behind the pilots watching through the viewpoint as her flagship grew closer and Meetra sat in the back of the shuttle staring at her back. What she had just witnessed kept playing over her mind and she knew she had to say something to Revan. Prior to the beginning of the war Meetra would have just gone up to her and discussed her concerns as they had been very open with one another. Now she was not sure how to approach the subject. Revan had become a closed shell behind the Mandalorian mask she wore, and with the war keeping them busy they barely had the time together anymore. Meetra could not shake the feeling that Revan could have changed immensely in these past few months likely not for the better.

Once the shuttle had landed in the hanger of the Vast Veldt, Revan had left and quickly made her way through the hanger and to the elevator. Meetra swiftly followed and stepped into the elevator with Revan just before the doors closed. The elevator ride was just as silent the shuttle as it made its way from the hanger to the stern of the ship, before changing direction and moving upwards. Meetra could sense the determination rolling off of her friend and as soon as the doors opened again she stormed towards the bridge. As soon as she stepped foot onto the bridge she began ordering a number of the crew to perform various tasks. She asked one man to send a probe droid to a set of coordinates that Meetra was not familiar with, another to radio in surrounding space craft, a twi’lek woman for an update from another battle that was taking place and so on. Eventually she made her way to the Admiral of the ship, speaking too quietly for Meetra to hear most of the information shared but enough to understand that Revan was updating him with what she must have learnt earlier. Eventually the Admiral nodded slowly and headed towards another crew member.

Meetra felt rather awkward simply standing around and watching. This mixed with her frustration at being kept in the dark and not having an opportunity to voice her concerns meant she was quickly growing rather annoyed. Revan, she noticed, had turned to face the viewpoint on the bridge. The bridge itself was positioned at the stern of the ship, near its highest point and overlooking its vast mass. It was one of the largest ships in the Republic fleet and had been heavily modified over the course of the war. Increased firepower, adapted shields and several patch-ups from battle meant that it was beginning to have a number of rather unique quirks. For example, the ships shields would overload if pushed too far, sending an electrical pulse throughout the ship which could short out electrical items on board. However this could also act as an EMP to surrounding spacecraft, something that Revan had used on one occasion to disable a number of Mandalorian ships when she had been ambushed. Additionally, and to the ship engineer’s confusion, the ship had developed a slight tilt to its internal gravity. Whilst it was not necessarily obvious to those walking through the ship, it was when you placed something that could roll on a supposedly flat surface.

Finally plucking up the courage, and realising that this was the first time she had a moment to speak to Revan whilst she was relatively alone, Meetra stepped forward to stand beside her. 

“I know you’re dying to say something” Revan said, a hint of dry disdain managing to make its way through the mask. 

“Reading my mind?” Meetra could not help and bite back, “Going to leave me brain dead?” 

The response earned a sideways glance by Revan, “Perhaps we should speak somewhere more private”. 

She then turned and walked back towards the exit for the bridge. Meetra followed and the two made their way into a side room just outside of the bridge. It was a conference room of sorts which included a large rectangular table in its centre flanked with a number of chairs and a large holographic projector in the centre, mostly used for tactical discussions or long range communication. As she entered, Revan lowered the hood of her robes before removing her mask, throwing it casually on the table. Turning she lent casually against the table, crossing her arms over her chest and simply looked at Meetra waiting for her to begin. Meetra had forgotten how beautiful Revan actually was as it had been so long since she had seen her maskless. She had heard terrible rumours from other Jedi about what the dark side could do to a person’s appearance, something that she could see had certainly not happened with Revan. However there were signs of tiredness around her eyes and she did appear slightly thinner.

“Revan, what were you doing down there?” Meetra questioned firmly. 

“What exactly are you referring to?” 

“Stop deflecting: you are well aware what I’m referring to” Meetra answered back, starting to lose her patience. She took a deep breath to calm herself before continuing, ““I felt what you did to that Mandalorians mind. I felt the darkness surrounding you”.

“Understandable considering the power I used” Revan answered evenly.

“Don’t you understand why I’m so concerned? You used the dark side. You know where it leads. You told me about Exar Kun and that bloody war of his. Look what happened to them. What if it’s starting to happen to us!”

“Us?” Revan questioned calmly.

“Yes, us. Can’t you see what’s happened to everyone that joined this war? We’re all feeling it. Look at Alek”. 

Meetra could see Revan wince slightly at the mention of his name. Alek was one of Revan’s closest friends and the two had met years before Meetra had first encountered Revan on Dantooine. He had always been a man of action, often reckless and impulsive even before the war and especially for a Jedi. He had been one of the first to decide to fight the Mandalorians. Now he was often found on the frontlines and had grown a reputation as a leader that was not afraid of getting his hands dirty. However, it had become more than noticeable as the war went on that his tactics had become far more merciless, often needlessly so in Meetra’s opinion, which had led to a number of confrontations between him and Revan. However his tactics were still effective and he was loved by his troops and so Revan had reluctantly let him continue, often with heated discussions after he had done something.

“Of course I can feel it” Revan answered. “War is a dirty business, something we all knew before starting this crusade. But it doesn’t matter. This war needs to end and if sacrifices have to be made then so be it. Besides, is it not the Jedi way to sacrifice oneself for the greater good?” 

“Not sacrificing who we are to the dark side”.

“Tell me something, what is the dark side” Revan asked wryly. 

The question threw Meetra off slightly before she responded, “It is the use of the Force that is fuelled by dark emotions, such as anger. Why does it matter? We both know what it is”.

“What do you feel when you look at me?”

Reaching out with the Force towards Revan, Meetra could see that she was letting her read her through the Force like an open book. She felt a great deal of conflicting emotions rolling off of her. Anger towards the Mandalorians was at the forefront, which she could sense that Revan was using as fuel to focus the darkness around her to defeat them. There was also a great deal of frustration at how long the war had dragged on, which was mixed with hope that with the information she had now obtained there was an end in sight. However, even with these dark emotions swirling inside of her Meetra could not sense the dark side itself.

“Using darker emotions such as anger, fear and hate to use the Force is not inherently evil and does not automatically lead to the dark side. A person’s motivations are important. For instance, if I were to kill a man in anger to stop them from killing a thousand innocents then surely my motivations are selfless. On the other hand, if I were to kill that same man in anger because I wanted something he has, then my motivations are selfish. Selfish acts whilst using dark emotions can be just like a drug, a self-fulfilling prophecy where the continued overuse can ultimately lead to an addiction. It is this addiction to using dark emotions for selfish reasons that can lead to a ‘fall to the dark side’. I believe that the light and dark side do not exist in the way we were taught by the Masters. Rather they are labels that have been created and associated with certain emotions. Besides, I know that you have used anger, hate and fear in this war. As far as I can see you have not ‘fallen to the dark side’”.

Meetra did not have an answer to any of what Revan had just said. It was true that she had used dark emotions on a number of occasions during this war, including the battle on Dxun, and as far as she could tell she had not become consumed by them. But from what the Jedi Masters had told them any use of the darker emotions would eventually lead to the dark side. Whilst what Revan had said made sense to her, it was difficult to think outside of what she had been taught for as long as she remembered. However, she also did not trust herself as Revan had a way with words. Additionally she had always been a philosopher of sorts that was certainly not afraid to argue against the beliefs of the Jedi and others. However one thing she had said bothered Meetra.

“Did you not use your anger to get something you wanted from that Mandolorian?” 

Revan smiled slightly in response, “Yes I suppose I did. But ultimately my reasons, at least as far as I’m concerned, are not selfish. I admit there is a fine line between a selfless and selfish act. For instance, sacrificing yourself to save others could be seen as selfless, but at the same time you could be sacrificing yourself for something you believe in, which theoretically is selfish. Maybe it is all down to point of view”.

“So who decides what is a selfless or a selfish act?” Meetra questioned, despite being unsure if Revan was still talking to her or debating with herself. 

“A very valid question, but even so use of dark emotions does not lead automatically to a ‘fall’” Revan responded before chuckling slightly. “I have missed debating with you Meetra”.

Meetra smiled slightly in response despite the situation, “Just please be careful. Even if you think you can control your dark emotions, who says that the rest of the Jedi can?”

“I know” Revan responded with grim nod. “Let’s hope this war ends before we find out”.  
\--  
A masculine laugh echoed around the small bunk room. The room was located far below the bridge of the Vast Veldt, a room that Meetra had been allocated as her own, personal, private space when aboard. She had not been back in almost two months, time in which it had been temporarily allocated to others. In the room with her was Tavlon Esan, a fellow Revanchist that had been a close friend of hers whilst growing up on Dantooine. Currently he was leaning against the wall beside the bunk, arms crossed, looking extremely amused at her expense.

“I was so ready to give her a piece of my mind” Meetra exclaimed. “Damn Revan and her bloody speeches”.

Tavlon laughed again in response: “Why do you think people always come to her way of thinking? She should have been a politician: has been on occasion”.

Meetra sighed in response. She knew he was right; Revan did have an annoying habit of being able to persuade so she did not really know what she thought she would be able to accomplish from talking to her. Meetra had even left following their talk feeling quite content. Tavlon had always been very practical and was good at seeing things logically, which could often be infuriating but also meant he was usually good at putting people in their place when they needed it, something that Meetra had needed throughout this war. He was one of the few people that Meetra still spoke to regularly and he was one of the few that had not been affected by the war. Despite his practicality, Tavlon had an extremely dry sense of humour which a great deal during particularly trying situations. 

“Maybe you shouldn’t have slept with our esteemed leader”. He was also the only person she had told about her ‘relationship’ with Revan, something she had come to regret. “She’s got you wrapped around her finger”.

Biting back a response that Tavlon would have only taken the wrong way, she just deflated slightly and sat on the edge of her bunk. “Can’t you see why I’m concerned though?” 

“Of course I can. But can you really expect us not to feel emotions in this war? We are just people after all”.

“But we cannot all control our emotions. Just look at Alek, the dark side surrounds him constantly. I get the feeling that it wouldn’t take much to push him over the edge. And if ‘falling to the dark side’ doesn’t truly exist then why have people fallen to it before?”

Tavlon nodded in response, “Old squint is not coping well, I agree. And while I don’t support what she said, Revan does make a good point. And I do agree that we need to finish this war. Then we can debate all we like whilst we sit on a beach somewhere, living off the royalties from the vids they’re inevitably going to make about us”.

Meetra laughed in response, “Let’s hope that’s the case”.

“Well either that or we’ll have a bunch of Exar Kun’s running around the galaxy”. 

Meetra could not help but snort slightly in response to Tavlon’s dark humour, despite having a bad feeling that Tavlon’s joke could be closer to the truth than either of them would like to admit. She also realised that she had still not actually found out what Revan had learnt on Dxun. Deciding she needed a good laugh rather than the morbid turn the conversation had taken, she continued.

“So who would play you in this vid?” 

“Jetarm Mollmer” Tavlon responded without a moment’s hesitation. “The man as cool as a winter on Hoth”.

Meetra chuckled in response. “You do realise he’s an old man now?”

“Not with the power of technology” Tavlon exclaimed proudly, spreading is arms wide. “For Revan I’m thinking Donelie Orrack”.

“Donelie’s a man, you idiot”

“Exactly, and how many in the Republic are actually aware Revan is a woman? Most don’t know what’s under the mask, so most will automatically assume Revan is a male human and as the film itself will likely be made by a male human. Just look at the Mandalorian’s. Most assume she is a man as they come from a male dominated society”.

Again Meetra could not argue with the man’s logic.   
\--  
Revan was feeling extremely proud of herself. Onderon and Dxun were now back under Republic control and, more importantly and after a great deal of planning and preparation, she had finally discovered what she needed in order to put her final plan into place to finally end the threat of the Mandalorians for good. 

She had learnt a number of things from her recent investigations and the interrogation with the Mandalorian Captain on Dxun. First: that Mandalore believed that she was one of, if not the biggest threat to the Mandalorian war effort and that he was willing to take incredible risks to eliminate her, something she was going to exploit. Second: that the main bulk of the Mando fleet was currently gathered in the Thesme Sector. This meant she knew exactly where to keep her spies located and exactly where to plant information to draw them out. She also had double agents working in Mando space that were planting the same rumours: that she would be on Malachor V in two weeks time with a large proportion of the Republic’s forces, most of which would be under repair and completely open to attack. Revan had already ordered some ships to Malachor for repair so that any scouts or spies would believe that the rumours were true.

Whilst drawing the Mandalorians and Mandalore out was very important, it was the weapon they would be using that would hopefully end this war for good. A number of scientists led by an Iridonian called Bao-Dur had developed a device called the Mass Shadow Generator, a superweapon that ultimately created something that all ship captains fear. Mass shadows had the ability to pull ships out of hyperspace and, if powerful enough, pull ships towards them. Usually they were caused by large celestial bodies, but her scientists had managed to develop a way of artificially creating them to a very large scale. One of the reasons that Malachor had been chosen was because it was theorised that the gravitational anomalies in the system would help fuel the Generator. 

Despite her pride at such a plan, Revan was well aware of the risks that the Generator posed. It was still untested and so there was the possibility it would not work at all, or course far more damage than anyone could predict. She was also well aware that as part of this plan she needed Republic forces on Malachor and the stations in orbit where the “repairs” were being conducted so that the Mandalorians did not see the trap until too late. These people would likely be killed by the superweapon, along with countless others on the Republic ships that would be stationed near the planet. Unfortunately she needed the ships to be stationed near the planet so that the Mandalorians could not escape into hyperspace and were close enough to be drawn into the planet by the weapon. Revan was splitting her forces in two, one half positioned around Malachor and the other a hyperspace jump away. Once the Mandalorians attacked Malachor, Revan’s ships would jump to the system and ‘push’ the Mandalorian forces as close to the planet as possible. 

Ultimately, Revan was ordering for the destruction of an entire planet. While she had promised herself that she would attempt to call a retreat if possible, she would not if it in any way compromised the plan. She had come to believe that if thousands of people had to die at Malachor so that the Mandalorians could be defeated, it would be worth it. So far she had only told a select few about this plan, largely fleet Admirals that were extremely loyal to her. As part of her plan she had put many of the troops that were not as loyal to her closer to, or on, Malachor. One of the reasons for this was in case the whole plan backfired or the weapon did not work correctly. She also knew that she would need those more loyal surrounding her in order to help quell any uprising at the use of such a weapon. Although, Revan could also not help but feel she would need loyal people, and lots of them, in the not so distant future.

Whilst Revan had already told Alek about the weapon, she had not told Meetra. It had been in the works for months, but had been riding on a number of things before it could be implemented. During this time Revan had found it difficult to find a way to speak with her about it, even going as far as to avoid her friend. She did believe that Meetra would eventually agree to the weapons use, likely after a heated discussion, but Revan was not sure how she would respond when told that she would likely be the one to order its activation. Explaining what they were planning would be challenging enough, but the psychological aspect of being the one to order its use would be far more difficult, especially as she had left so little time before the battle to do so. However, she needed someone she could trust to be there to give the order in her place, and Meetra would be close enough to the planet to signal the weapon’s activation. Meanwhile, Revan and Alek would be infiltrating Mandalore’s flagship so that she could challenge him one-on-one. She had considered taking Meetra in Alek’s place during her confrontation with Mandalore, but knew Meetra was a far better strategist than him and would be able to see the best moment to activate the weapon. She trusted her friend to act as the leader of the entire battle.

She knew they needed to have the conversation sooner rather than later. Their talk regarding the dark side had gone better than she could have predicted and so hoped she would be able to sway Meetra towards her way of thinking. What Revan had said about the dark side was largely what she believed, but she had not revealed to anyone other than Alek why she had developed these beliefs. During the war she had travelled all around the galaxy, searching out rumours and to try and find anything that could help the war effort. Malachor V had been one of these places, somewhere she had been drawn to due to its taboo nature in Mandalorian society. Although it had not been her intention, she had discovered an ancient academy dedicated to training Sith buried beneath the planet’s surface along with what once had been cities. It was from here that she rediscovered the planet Korriban, where she had gone on to visit the Valley of the Dark Lords, as well as evidence that the ancient Sith may still exist in some unknown part of the galaxy. Revan had begun to dabble in the use of the dark side following what she had learnt on Malachor and Korriban, and had come to believe she could control emotions associated with the dark side. 

Since that day she had also gone back to Dantooine, to ruins that she had discovered as a teenager and had been told by the Jedi Masters to stay away from. Alongside Alek they had discovered an ancient Star Map from a civilisation long since forgotten including information regarding something which roughly translated from ancient Selkath to ‘Star Forge’. The map had pointed towards other planets including Korriban, Tatooine, Kashyyyk and Manaan. They had visited the first two and from the data they had gathered it appeared that the Forge’s location would be revealed once all the maps had been visited. She hoped that the maps were not simply leading them on a wild Bantha chase, or that the Forge no longer existed, but Revan was far too curious to not continue her search. Furthermore, she had a feeling that she needed to find the Forge. 

Sighing, Revan decided that now was as good a time as any to explain the plan to Meetra. She hoped having two weeks to prepare would be enough for her friend.  
\--


	3. Episode I: Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Mandalorian Wars have been raging across the galaxy. However, the Republic finally appears to have broken the tide, pushing the Mando’a back towards the Outer Rim. On the jungle moon of Dxun a fierce battle is underway, led by Jedi General Meetra Surik. Meanwhile a cunning plan has been put in place that could finally lead to the end of the war.

Meetra could feel the anticipation and readiness rolling off of everyone currently situated on the bridge in waves. It was a strange feeling that she was attempting to ride out but it also gave her an uneasiness that made her feel as if she was suffering from motion sickness. Outside of the Force the bridge of the hammerhead cruiser, Draal Runner was deathly silent except for the occasional beeping coming from the electrical equipment. Not too long ago they had received a coded transmission that the enemy fleet was on the move signalling what they all had been preparing for: the Mandalorian invasion fleet at Malachor V. 

Following the transmission there had been a rush of activity. The high ranked members of the fleet had given orders to get their crews and ships into positions which, at a glance, appeared almost completely random. However their positions had been painstakingly planned over the last few weeks so that parts of the fleet could very easily fall back into defensive formations whilst other, less vital parts of the fleet, would take the brunt of the attack. This had been done in an attempt to draw in the Mandalorian fleet while keeping losses as low as possible. The plan had required some deception within sections of the fleet in order to, as Revan had explained it, _‘stimulate an actual response to a true invasion force’._ Therefore a large proportion of the crews within the fleet, including some ship captains, had either not been informed of the plan or had been given only very specific information.

The deception that was being used was a part of the plan that Meetra was not happy with. Although she could understand the reasoning behind it, she did not like how many were being offered to the enemy as unknowing sacrifices in order for the Mandalorian fleet as a whole to be defeated. Moreover, the entire plan revolved around a weapon that most were not even aware existed: a superweapon that would likely kill thousands if it worked how intended. When she had been told of the Mass Shadow Generator by Revan she had been completely against the weapon’s use, even with the authorisation of the Chancellor. The idea that an untested weapon was going to be used was one thing, but one that would kill anyone on the planet or within its atmosphere, Republic or Mandalorian, was another entirely.

She had, of course, voiced her concerns to Revan: very loudly and in front of a number of the crew of Revan’s flagship, which had earned them quite a few stares. It was not often that the average person got to see two Jedi in a heated argument with one another, let alone when one of them was their supposed leader. Unfortunately for her, Revan being the wizard of words she was had somehow managed to convince her that this was the best plan possible, it would result in the least loss of innocent life and it would be the quickest way to end this war. Additionally, their infuriating leader had somehow manged to convince her to be the one to order the weapon’s use when and if the time came. Revan had explained that she was the most suitable for the roll as she was proficient at battle analysis and so would be able to choose the best moment to activate it. Revan stroking her ego had helped her to agree to the plan, especially when her friend had explained that she needed someone she trusted implicitly to be in charge of its use.

Despite agreeing to the plan, and then coming up with her own ideas on how better to implement it, she had been extremely frustrated with the situation she had found herself in: even more irritated than now. She had gone to her room that night expecting to have a very restless night, even pondering whether to do some sparring in order to tire herself to sleep. Instead she had resigned to go back to her room only to find Revan sat, unmasked, in her room. Another fiery debate had followed which had ended up with the two of them in an even more frenzied, but far more pleasurable, embrace. At the time it had felt as though it had been exactly what she needed, with the weight of the galaxy being lifted from her shoulders, but now a small, darker, part of her did wonder if Revan only slept with her to try and appease her. Additionally a rather annoying voice in her head, which sounded extremely like Tavlon’s, was telling her that Revan was playing her like a fiddle.

Bringing her thoughts back to the present she observed the lead technician for the Mass Shadow project, an Iridonian Lieutenant by the name of Bao-Dur, currently running over some last minute readings for the weapon. He had worked under her quite a few times during the war but she had only spoken to him briefly in that time. On the surface it was difficult to believe that someone so soft spoken and outwardly calm could be behind the creation of such a weapon, and various others that had been developed during the war, but beneath the surface she could sense the silent rage towards the Mandalorians boiling within. She had come to learn that a number of his family had been lost during Mandalorian attacks of Iridonian colonies in the Outer Rim, something that justified his anger towards them greatly. However she could also feel something else from him that she could not quite place: almost as if there was far more to the man than met the eye.

Following the rush of activity that had resulted from the coded message, there had been over an hour of calm and waiting. That was where they found themselves now with the crew members trying to keep themselves occupied until the inevitable. While this part of the fleet was waiting an even larger portion of the fleet was currently elsewhere, a relatively short hyperspace jump away, with Revan. Once the Mandalorian’s attacked and were drawn close enough to the surface of Malachor, they would send a signal to Revan’s section of the fleet. With the Mandalorian’s so close to the planet they would be far more vulnerable and with the Republic fleet on either side of them, it would be easier to keep them contained close to the planet. Revan had also made Meetra aware that, during the confusion, Revan and a strike team would attempt to board Mandalore’s flagship in order to fight him one-on-one. Meetra had, once again, protested at this plan but Revan had just told her it was something she needed to do. However she did make it clear that the attempt to fight Mandalore was a secondary objective and should the right moment come to activate the weapon then Meetra should do so, even if it put her and the strike team at danger. Revan had gone on to explain that she hoped if she could kill Mandalore, the superweapon may not need to be used.

“Admiral” a communications officer on the bridge called out, “scans show incoming signals”.

The Admiral on-board, a darker skinned middle-aged woman, turned to the officer and nodded before speaking to the crew, “Be ready everyone”. She looked to Meetra with a grim look on her face that Meetra could feel like she returned. Those aware of the plan knew today would be extremely bloody.

* * *

“Admiral, we need to kill these Mandalorian’s now!” Revan bellowed, her mask not distorting any of her fury.

The Admiral nodded, “Bombers target their engines: make sure no-one escapes the system. Keep all comms blocked”.

Revan added, “Keep surrounding them: don’t give them an opening to jump to hyperspace”.

Currently the Republic fleet under Revan’s direct command were attempting to destroy a Mandalorian patrol fleet. They had been ready to jump to Malachor V after receiving the signal from there but this enemy fleet had happened across them, on a completely routine and random patrol. The patrol fleet was incredibly outnumbered and not much of a threat in terms of firepower, but Revan and the Admiral were aware that they would need to destroy the entirety of this enemy fleet before they made the jump to Malachor. They were concerned that should they stop jamming their communications and make the hyperspace jump, the time it took for them to arrive at Malachor would give the patrol fleet a chance to warn the entirety of the Mandalorian fleet of their pending arrival. It was a chance that neither of them was willing to take as it could give the Mandalorians enough time to pull back from the planet and re-group.

Unfortunately it was taking them a long time to destroy all of them as the patrol was full of smaller ships that were more agile and difficult to hit and keep contained. Now it had been over an hour since the signal had been received from Malachor and, despite their best efforts, they had also been unable to warn the fleet at Malachor of what was going on. Revan only hoped that Meetra and the rest were up to the challenge of holding off the Mandalorian fleet with what limited forces they had.

* * *

Another Republic cruiser exploded in a sea of sparks, its broken fragments raining down through the atmosphere towards the planet below. The Republic fleet at Malachor had already lost over a third of its forces and the rest were not fairing well despite everyone’s best efforts. The formations they had fallen into when the Mandalorian’s had arrived had helped, but as they were significantly outnumbered it was only a matter of how long they could last. 

The signal had been sent to Revan over three hours ago now and they had still not arrived and no communications had been received from them either. A part of Meetra was starting to question if this had actually been a part of Revan’s plan all along. She was, after all, willing to sacrifice many in this battle to end this war for good and Meetra was starting to ponder if Revan had held off on revealing the whole truth to everyone: her included. If that was the case and she was to die here, she promised herself that she would find a way to come back and haunt Revan, especially if Revan had slept with her and then sacrificed her.

However, just as the thought crossed her mind a slight cheer echoed around the bridge. Wondering what was going on she looked to one of the computer screens monitoring the battle and spotted a large amount of green triangular shapes appearing on screen: the rest of the Republic fleet. Sighing with relief Meetra allowed herself a moment to calm herself. She could only hope that she would not need to order the activation of the Mass Shadow Generator, but she promised to be ready to do so if needed.

* * *

The shuttle shook as it left the hanger bay of the Vast Veldt and headed into the cold of space, the change in pressure putting the armour plating through its paces. It was particularly well armoured and extremely manoeuvrable, making it ideal for the task of attempting to transport its valuable cargo to its destination.

It had taken Revan’s portion of the fleet a lot longer to get to the Malachor system than any of them would have wanted, and she could see that the Republic fleet already here had done admirably despite the circumstances. Whilst the situation was not ideal, it appeared that the extra time had put the Mandalorian’s into a full sense of security which had left them completely open to attack’s from their rear: something Revan was going to utilise fully.

Currently aboard the shuttle was the strike team whose intention it was to help Revan make her way to Mandalore. The team consisted of Revan, Alek and four very well trained troops from Special Forces currently being flown by one of the best pilot’s in the fleet. Fortunately for them Mandalore’s flagship had held back during the attack meaning it was conveniently positioned for their strike team. Additionally it meant that the ship was also a reasonable distance from the planet which, Revan hoped, meant it would be far enough away for them not to be pulled into the planet should the superweapon be used.

All of them braced themselves as the pilot manoeuvred the shuttle away from enemy fire. Fortuitously the shuttle was almost unarmed and the Mandalorian’s were not aware of who was currently on board, meaning they were being largely ignored. Moreover the Mandalorian’s were far more occupied with the fleet that had just come out hyperspace behind them. As such even Mandalore’s ship largely ignored them, their turrets firing at the other, far larger ships in the Republic fleet. The pilot quickly and skilfully brought them into the hanger, coming in as swiftly as possible before opening the gangway doors whilst still airborne. Revan jumped out of the ship, followed by Alek and the rest of the strike team, only to find the hanger they had landed in almost deserted.

Apart from a few maintenance droids going about their business the hanger was strangely quiet: the fighters and Basilisk War Droids all gone and no crew members in sight. While it was likely that most of the crew on board were busy elsewhere, it was strange no-one at all had come to ‘greet’ them. A few moments later sirens began to sound around the hanger followed by an announcement in Mando’a warning the ship of the infiltrators arrival. Despite this there was still no physical response to their presence until another, heavily accented voice speaking in Galactic Basic, sounded through the communications system.

“Revan, I did wonder when we would get the chance to meet face-to-face”. Mandalore’s low voice sounded through the hanger via the comms system. “As ever your tactics are impeccable: you had all of us completely fooled. But you must realise that we still outnumber and outgun your forces”.

Revan did not answer, not wanting to reveal any part of her plan and also unsure if Mandalore would have been able to hear her response anyway.

“Join me on the bridge, we have much to discuss”.

_That we do,_ Revan thought wryly. Alek turned to her with a concerned look on his face, “This seems a lot easier than it should be”. A murmur of agreement sounded from the rest of the team. While she did agree that it seemed like this was the case, she could not sense anything to suggest any danger from Mandalore. Deciding to trust her instincts and the Force, she began to make her way towards the bridge. The team had studied the plans of Mandalore’s ship intently to make sure they knew the layout once on-board. As such it did not take long to get to the bridge. The parts of the ship they made their way through were also largely deserted and Revan could only assume Mandalore had ordered everyone to remain at their posts. It was also dimly lit, with the ship likely using all of its power likely diverted to more important areas such as its shields, engines and weaponry. One of the team with her made a terrible joke about using torches to scare the Mandalorian’s, to which some of the others laughed behind her, as they stepped through the door and entered the bridge.

Scanning it quickly, Revan’s eyes fell on the very large figure at the other side. Mandalore the Ultimate was a sight to behold, standing at over seven feet tall clad in his heavy armour with the Battle of Malachor playing out behind him through the viewpoint. The low-level lighting kept the bridge mostly in the shadows, apart from the screens and other electrical equipment that the rest of the bridge crew, who had only spared her a sideways glance, were working on. Revan was well aware that Mandalore was a Taung, a warrior race that were beginning to die out and was ready for a tough fight.

“Have you come to watch, we have the best of views from here” Mandalore exclaimed as he turned to face them.

“Not exactly” Revan answered. Reaching up she removed the mask she wore. Some of the Mandalorian’s that had started to watch the proceedings began to murmur to one another in response. She could not stop the smirk that followed as she felt their surprise at seeing her in the flesh: she was well aware that most of the Mandalorian’s had assumed Revan was a man. However here she stood, a relatively short woman, the same woman that had turned the tide of the war.

“You all know me as Revan, but I am Belvir of clan Farr” she began, speaking fluently in Mando’a. “I assume some of you may remember that name”.

“Very unexpected” Mandalore answered as he took a step towards her. “Little Belvir, I do remember that name. The little girl that killed a member of clan Aswaud over twice her age with just her mind. You caused quite a stir on Kalevala that day. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe you were exiled”.

Revan held back a sarcastic laugh, “If by exiled you mean cast into the toxic desert with no food, then yes. As you can see I managed to escape”.

“So I can see. It makes sense that one of our own would be able to fight us so well. Why are you telling me this?”

Revan smirked again, “Because I, Belvir of clan Farr, challenge you for the title of Mandalore in one-on-one combat”.

Numerous Mandalorian voices sounded out across the bridge at this followed by the sound of laughter coming from Mandalore himself.

“I had assumed you had come here to assassinate me and you all would be dead if that was the case. However I am honour bound to accept your challenge. I assume you remember that these battles are to the death?”

“Oh I am well aware” Revan retorted. Turning to the people with her, “Do not interfere in this fight, no matter what happens. If anyone else tries to interfere, put them down”.

“Are you kidding me?” Alek replied in shock. “I have waited years for this!”

“You heard me Alek. This battle is a matter of honour and no-one can interfere” Revan ordered. She could feel the anger rolling off of him and was worried that he would step in, especially as Mandalore had bruised his ego immensely when Alek had fought him previously. “In fact, go back to the shuttle”. Alek had a look of shock cross his face which was quickly replaced with hard glower. Despite this he ultimately obeyed and stormed from the bridge, but not before Revan could feel the sense of betrayal rolling off of him. She had been worried about bringing him to this confrontation, but had assumed there would be resistance from the Mandalorians prior to reaching Mandalore so had assumed she would need his fighting prowess. Additionally he was easier to keep under control if nearby. She could only hope that she could heal these feelings before they were allowed to fester.

Turning back to Manadalore she continued, “Are you ready?”

“I am, Belvir of clan Farr” he replied, grabbing the enormous axe which had been resting nearby. Revan knew to be wary of the man. His enormous stature meant that in a head-to-head fight without the Force, especially in close quarters such as this, she likely would not have stood a chance. Besting Alek was no small feat as he was considered to be one of the best duellists amongst the Jedi. However Alek’s overconfidence often led him to charging into a battle completely unprepared, which had likely been the case with Mandalore. Revan, however, had been Alek’s equal even prior to the war, was far stronger in the Force and she had grown into a far more capable warrior. She could also feel that Mandalore was underestimating the threat she posed to him, partly due to her size and because he had already defeated other Jedi in this war.

Mandalore charged at her, his massive frame moving surprisingly quickly across the bridge. Reaching her he swung the axe, that was larger than she was, down towards her. Revan simply side stepped casually before doing the same again as Mandalore swung his axe sideways. This dance continued for a few moments, with Mandalore swinging his gigantic weapon towards her only for Revan to dodge, jump or step out of the way with ease. Parts of the bridge had been hit by the axe leaving scorch marks and other damage. Some of the Mandalorian’s had to quickly jump out of the way of their battle when things got a little too close. She could sense that her opponent was becoming extremely frustrated with not being able to land a single blow. He attempted one final swing but, after meeting nothing but air once again, threw his axe to the side with a growl: realising she was too fast to hit with such a slow weapon.

Revan remained stood still, curious to see what he would try next. Mandalore stared back at her for a moment before calling in Mando’a to someone nearby. The person he had called to brought over a double-ended spear, obvious signs of battle littering its surface. While still large it appeared much lighter than the axe, which would make it difficult to dodge repeatedly. Knowing this, Revan grabbed her lightsaber from her belt, igniting the purple blade of plasma. Despite the dangerous situation she could not help the grin that made its way to her lips. She had always gotten a rush out of dangerous situations, something she had gotten into trouble with other Jedi for. Moreover, she had been looking forward to letting loose with her powers for some time now.

Letting all aspects of the Force flow through her and channelling her emotions together, both light and dark, Revan felt as if she was almost floating. She focused everything on the here and now and, in response, time around her seemed to slow to almost a halt. She had never felt as in tune with the Force as she currently did and the feeling was extremely exhilarating. Part of her knew that she should be able to defeat Mandalore with relative ease if she simply used the Force, but she wanted to duel him properly and she was ready for the fight of her life.

Once again, Mandalore made the first swing. This time she intercepted the blade easily, forcing the power behind Mandalore’s blow away from herself and taking him off balance slightly. The second followed and she did the same; then the third; and the forth. The dance continued and to those watching the movements appeared almost impossibly fast. Revan was using all she had learnt from the Jedi and Mandalorian’s, combined with the Force, to make her into the deadliest of combatants. Despite this Mandalore’s strength was still considerable, with some of his blows almost knocking her off her feet. She had also managed to keep hold of her lightsaber despite the onslaught but she could begin to feel the incredible strain that was being put on her arms to simply keep a hold of her weapon. She could also feel the sense of surprise rolling off of Mandalore and the rest of their audience at her ability to fight and keep up with him. Their surprise fed her and she used it to start to put Mandalore on the defensive slightly. Revan used her incredible speed to her advantage and whenever she went on the offensive, Mandalore was finding it difficult to keep up with her attacks. She was still extremely cautious of his attacks as she was well aware that any hit he got in would likely be the only he would need.

However, focused as she was on Mandalore’s spear she was caught unprepared as he swung an arm, hitting her chest and knocking her to her knees. The force of the blow had been immense, taking the air out of her and making her feel as if her ribs had been broken. She knew that this was not the case but even so it had caused an incredible rush of pain.

“You have done well, little verd _(warrior)_ ” Mandalore spoke as he towered over her. “But you are not built to be a true warrior”.

Revan felt her anger rise. Anger at Mandalore for claiming she was not a worthy warrior, towards her clan for exiling her all those years ago mixed with all of the rage that had been growing over this war. She used it to fuel herself even further, falling into the Force until all she could see was a red haze with Mandalore at its centre. She let out a growl and pushed herself to her feet, striking him with numerous blows and taking Mandalore by complete surprise. He managed to keep up with her attacks enough to block them but was steadily falling back in order to stay out of her reach. He retreated until his back almost touched the viewpoint of the bridge and there was nowhere else to move apart from forward. Revan could see that the man was finding it difficult to keep up with her and while he was starting to slow, she was only getting faster as her anger powered her onwards. Eventually Mandalore made a mistake as she fainted to his right side and, as he moved to block, she aimed higher. Her blade made its way through the exceptionally tough armour he wore, managing to just about reach his flesh. Revan had known Mandalore’s armour was strong but had not expected it to almost halt a lightsaber blow. Mandalore grunted slightly in response, looking down to his right arm and seeing the hole in his armour and the burnt flesh beneath.

“Perhaps I was wrong. It has been some time since someone has landed a blow on me” he spoke and Revan could feel the sudden rush of respect he felt towards her mixed, for the first time, with a very slight sense of fear.

“And you are a worthy opponent” she responded, realising for the first time that she did not hate Mandalore but had actually come to respect him. Whilst she did hate the Mandalorian’s as a whole, Mandalore himself was a very cunning warrior, a remarkable strategist and she appreciated how he would not pillage worlds if given the chance: rather using and converting them to their cause.

Mandalore bowed his head slightly in response in respect, before readying himself. Revan took a moment to pause before launching herself forward continuing her assault. She continued to use her incredible speed to reign down blows from almost every direction, but this time Mandalore was more aware of her abilities. He remained on the defensive for the large part as he was being far more reserved, but this did mean he picked when to attack in order to attempt to take Revan off-guard. However, Revan was always one-step ahead and did not allow herself to make a single mistake again. The battle continued but it was beginning to become obvious what the final outcome would be. Eventually his guard was broken again and Revan’s blade managed to catch is left side, this time with more force, burning the armour out of its way to reach skin. Not giving him any time to recover, Revan continued and, despite his worthy efforts, he did not manage to stop her from catching him again just above the knee. Mandalore managed to twist out of the way to not cause too much damage but Revan quickly changed her assault and hit him again, and again, and again. With one final strike she managed to hit his right arm, causing him to lose grip of his spear before falling to his knees. The armour enclosing his body was not covered with burn slashes, most of which had made their way through the armour far enough to leave burn marks on the skin. There was one large slash across his stomach which, despite being cauterised by Revan’s lightsaber, was starting to bleed profusely anyway.

“You… will make a worthy Mandalore” he spoke breathlessly. Even on his knees he was almost as tall as Revan was standing. Reaching up with a grunt he pressed the seals to his helmet, before removing and then offering it to the Jedi. Revan took the golden helmet wordlessly, looking at the heavily scarred, middle-aged Taung as he began to cough up blood. “You will need to be. I see now that we were deceived”.

“Deceived?” Revan enquired.

He nodded, “I cannot remember by what, but I was so sure that we would defeat the Republic. My arrogance has blinded me”.

“What do you remember?” she pleaded, voice raising slightly.

“I… recall a tomb; a desert; and a man with blood red skin”.

Revan could sense that what he was saying was true and promised to find out what it was that had deceived Mandalore so greatly. Looking him in the eyes she turned her lightsaber hilt towards Mandalore, pressing the unignited hilt over his heart. Seeing the look of acceptance and readiness he had in his eyes, followed by a slight nod, she quickly activated and deactivated the weapon, killing the man almost instantly. His large body fell to the floor in front of her, expecting to feel relief at the sight of her greatest enemy finally dead at her feet in front of her. Instead she felt almost nothing, as if the fight had drained her of all her emotions. Or perhaps it was that what Mandalore had told her was concerning her. Shaking her head in an attempt to clear her thoughts, she turned to the nearest Mandalorian.

“Open up a link to all ships, Mandalorian and Republic”. The man followed her orders immediately and readied herself: she had a war to finish.


	4. Episode I: Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Mandalorian Wars have been raging across the galaxy. However, the Republic finally appears to have broken the tide, pushing the Mando’a back towards the Outer Rim. On the jungle moon of Dxun a fierce battle is underway, led by Jedi General Meetra Surik. Meanwhile a cunning plan has been put in place that could finally lead to the end of the war.

“Admiral!” the comms officer bellowed over the sea of voices on the bridge. “We are receiving a transmission on all frequencies”.

“From whom?” the Admiral enquired as she made her way through the crowd of activity towards the officer.

“Mandalore’s flagship, Admiral”. There was a noticeable pause in the Admiral’s stride followed by a slight frown. Her eyes glanced towards Meetra who simply nodded back at her: both more than aware of whom the message would likely be from.

“Put it on” the Admiral ordered before shouting to the rest of the crew on the bridge for silence.

“This is a message to all Mandalorian and Republic forces: I, Revan, born Belvir of clan Farr, have defeated Mandalore in single combat and have claimed the mantle of Mandalore by birth right”. There were a number of voices that rung out across the bridge at the revelation, before quickly being silenced once again by the Admiral. “The crew aboard Mandalore’s ship are my witnesses and have sworn their loyalty to their new Mandalore. I order all remaining Mandalorian forces to cease their offensive operations immediately: the Republic will do the same. You have ten minutes to respond and to swear your loyalty to your new Mandalore”.

The message repeated itself, this time with Revan speaking Mando’a, followed shortly by a Mandalorian that had witnessed the event and supported Revan’s claim as their new leader. Meetra felt a brief flash of hope work its way through her at hearing the message. The fact that Mandalore had been defeated was reason enough to rejoice alone. Additionally, Revan had explained to her that Mandalorian honour should dictate that anyone of Mando’a blood who managed to defeat the current Mandalore in single, one-on-one, combat would be granted the title themselves. Despite having confidence in the plan as a whole, Revan was concerned that her exile may impact their decision to take her claim seriously. Revan had revealed very little about her Mandalorian heritage to anyone and Meetra had only been told sparingly about her exile and eventual path towards discovery by the Jedi. 

“All forces” the Admiral spoke, speaking via the comms officer to the rest of her command. “Halt all offensive operations”.

Almost immediately Republic forces across the battlefield halted their operations, followed shortly after by the Mandalorian’s. All activity ceased and looking outside it appeared as though a massive battle was suspended in time. The bridge of the ship Meetra was aboard was almost completely silent, the atmosphere tense as the wait for a response from the Mandalorian’s began. She could sense the hope from the crew that whatever plan their leader had concocted would work and that the war was only a few minutes away from its conclusion. The minutes passed and there were no obvious signs of action from the Mandalorians, however it was likely the case that the highest ranked amongst them were quickly discussing a response. Despite largely being a military dictatorship, their society did utilise a degree of democracy. In the situation where their leader was killed in battle there would be a vote as to the best candidates to become the new Mandalore: although this did usually lead to violence. While that was the case now, their discussion would be if Revan’s claim as Mandalore should be accepted and, if over a majority voted in Revan’s favour, she would become the new Mandalore. Either way the vote was cast those that refused to follow through with the outcome would be seen as enemies of the Mandalorian people. The silence continued, with the minutes beginning to feel like hours. Just as the deadline was about to be reached the communications officer called out once again.

“Admiral: we are being pinged by the Mandalorian fleet”. A nod from the Admiral told him to put it through.

“This is a message to Revan and the Republic fleet” a hard, male voice spoke. “We reject your claim, exile, and request that you continue with this battle”.

Meetra’s heart sunk as she heard the response, which was quickly followed by a simple “ _As you wish_ ” from Revan. Through the viewpoint the flashes of cannon fire began once again as the fleets sort about destroying one another. A quick glance at the tactical screen nearby showed Meetra that the majority of the Mandalorian fleet was positioned in between Malachor V and the Republic fleet, which was exactly where Revan had wanted them to be. Despite this, the invasion fleet still outnumbered the Republic by a large enough margin that the battle would still likely go only one way if it continued. Meetra’s instincts were telling her that if something needed to be done, then now was the best opportunity. As a wave of determination rolled through her she turned towards the Iridonian technician, Bao-Dur, only to find his eyes already upon her. She could see the steely resolve written all over his face as he had likely come to the same conclusion and was simply waiting for her approval. Not trusting her voice she simply gave the man a nod, which he quickly returned before turning back to his terminal screen. At first there were no obvious signs that anything was amiss. The deadly battle continued outside and crew members aboard the ship went about their business. For a few moments there were no warning signs at all that the weapon had been activated, until all hell broke loose.

At first there were slight creaks and groans from the ship, similar to if it had just dropped out of hyperspace, followed shortly after by a ship wide warning siren sounding. Out of the viewpoint of the bridge, the backdrop started to move across the screen. However, Meetra quickly realised that their ship was starting to be pulled towards the planet.

On Malachor itself, lightning began to cross its surface. At first this was a bright white before shifting into a sickly green. It continued to build across the planet before springing outwards into space. The planet’s atmosphere also began to change, with clouds seeming to form instantaneously before evolving into enormous tornadoes. Eventually the incredible energy building up became too much for the world and Malachor began to splinter and fracture as gigantic earthquakes ripped the ground apart. Overhead the space stations, ships and fighters from both sides of the conflict were gradually being pulled towards the planet’s surface. While those lucky enough to be out of the weapons reach managed to escape the weapon’s pull, many were not so fortunate, the lightning of the planet appearing to almost reach up and grab the craft before pulling them into its deadly embrace.

Meetra could feel everything: the thousands of voices crying out in terror as their ships were torn apart around them before they were suddenly silenced. Even Malachor itself seemed to be calling out in pain. She could hear the commotion amongst the crew that this was causing as the Admiral shouted orders to her panicked crew, but it was as though she was listening to everything whilst underwater. Her senses were all being overloaded with information and she was even starting to find it difficult to remember where she was. Meanwhile the ship continued to be pulled closer to the planet, despite everyone’s best efforts to free themselves from its hold. The engines were being pushed way beyond what they were designed to do, so much so that the ship itself was beginning to tear itself apart from the strain. Equipment around the bridge was beginning to short circuit and fail, with sparks flying as the ships lighting began to flicker.

The Jedi’s senses continued to be assaulted but, despite this she did manage to spot the Iridonian technician. However he was now lying on the floor with his arm currently pinned beneath some fallen debris and bleeding profusely. With her instinctual response being to help, she attempted to make her way towards him only for her legs to give way completely causing her to tumble to the ground. Despite her best efforts she seemed to have no control over her legs and so ended up attempting to crawl across the bridge floor towards him. All the while the Force was getting louder and louder as more and more voices cried out until it began to feel as though her head was going to split apart.

Eventually it all became too much for her and she curled up on the floor. Letting out an incredible wail she pushed the voices and the pain back with all of her might. As she did she saw flashes of people and events from the past, present and future: Revan standing upon a tropical planet looking upon an enormous fleet of ships and cheering followers; Coruscant under attack with the Jedi Temple crumbling to the ground; a trio of figures shrouded in darkness battling against a group of Jedi. The visions kept coming and there were far too many to keep track of, especially in her current state. In some she witnessed her own death and in many she saw Revan, battling against Jedi and a species with red skin. The visions became more and more frequent before suddenly there was nothing. The voices are been silenced and all of the intense pain had gone, replaced with a feeling of complete emptiness. Meetra accepted the silent and dark embrace of nothingness before fading into oblivion.

* * *

Revan could feel the wave of pain, suffering and death rolling over her still. Thousands had been killed in a matter of minutes following the weapon’s activation and the Force was reverberating this across the galaxy. Being so near to such an event meant that this feeling was intensified. However, instead of turning away or closing herself off from it Revan had readily accepted and rode upon its currents. It had made her feel equal parts revolted and exhilarated, but she felt as though she needed to experience what happened and accept responsibility for it rather than turning a blind eye.

The other Jedi had all felt it as well. Around the fleet soldiers had seen their Jedi compatriots behaving oddly as the weapon was fired, some collapsing to their knees and appearing to be in overwhelming pain and others seeming to almost space out for a moment as if on some kind of hallucinogenic. Even now, hours later, there were still Jedi lying unconscious in medical facilities across the fleet. Luckily for those aboard, Mandalore’s ship had been out of range of the weapon and had managed to flee the planet. However the superweapon had caused far more damage than had initially been theorised, with the planet’s surface being ripped apart only for its fragmented remains to be held together by the weapon’s power.

Despite the destruction that had been caused by the weapon, it _had_ ultimately led to the Mandalorian’s unconditional surrender. However Revan could still sense danger on the horizon. Prior to joining the war she had assumed that the Mandalorian’s had been the cause but the sense of foreboding had only seemed to have grown following their surrender. This mixed with what Mandalore had told her moments before his death had led to her thinking that perhaps the true threat was still out there. If that was the case and an even larger danger was waiting for the best moment to strike at them, then the Republic were completely ill-equipped and unprepared.

“General?” A soft voice called Revan out of her thoughts. She turned to see a young cadet, “General Surik is awake”.

* * *

Revan could see and feel that something was wrong as soon as she caught sight of Meetra. Her expression was completely neutral and her eyes almost vacant, as if she was staring at something that nobody else could see. However it was how she appeared in the Force that concerned Revan far more. Where once there had been a bright light shining through the Force, which connected to others like a web and had Meetra had its centre, there was now a gaping void of complete darkness. To Revan it was like looking at a Black Hole: as if the Force itself was bending around Meetra in an attempt to ignore her presence altogether.

She ordered the medical officer to leave the room and then removed her mask and her gloves. Meetra’s skin was extremely pale and, after reaching over and delicately placing hand upon her friends, she realised that she was also deathly cold. If not for the steady rise and fall coming from her chest and the machinery nearby showing her heartbeat, she would have assumed Meetra was gone. The report she had received had explained that Meetra very nearly had, as the ship she had been on had been right on the edge of the weapon’s ‘point of no return’: the term given point where the Mass Shadow Generator’s power was so great that escape was impossible. According to the survivors the ship had been attempting to escape the weapon’s pull but had been unable to. As the engines had been pushed more as power was diverted from other systems, the strain on the ship itself had led to it starting to tear apart. Realising that the ship would be destroyed if they pushed the engines any more, the Admiral had ordered the crew to put enough power into the engines to hold them in position and then ordered all surviving crew to the escape pods. Once they were secure the Admiral, and the few brave crew members that stayed behind, put more power to the engines and once they were out of range of the weapon, jettisoned the escape pods. While the escape pods had gotten away unharmed, the ship itself had been destroyed from the strain taking the Admiral and few crew left with it. Meetra had been found in an escape pod with a few bridge crew, including a communications officer and a heavily wounded Iridonian technician. The officer had explained that the Iridonian had somehow managed to help Meetra get to the escape pod despite having lost one of his arms.

Suddenly Meetra’s hand gripped Revan’s firmly and her eyes turned to Revan for the first time.

“Am I dead?” Meetra questioned quietly. Even though she was looking at roughly where Revan was her eyes were not focused on her, rather it appeared as if she was looking through Revan. Revan simply shook her head in response. “It feels like I should be”, Meetra added.

“You’re not dead, Meetra” Revan answered firmly. “We’ve won”.

Meetra did not respond at first, “I was just told that Tavlon died today. I’ve now been told by you that the war is over. But, I feel nothing. I don’t feel angry, happy, relieved: just nothing”. Revan did not know what to say in response, but Meetra’s eyes finally focused on her for the very first time. “What have you done to me?”

The words sent a shiver down Revan’s spine. After all she had seen today it was the sound of her friend’s voice, a voice that had been so full of emotion and warmth now devoid of anything, that affected her the most. The voice was so cold and matter-of-fact.

“I don’t know” Revan whispered back quietly. “We’ll fix this, Meetra, I promise you”.

Meetra shook her head in response “You can’t: you’re already broken”.

* * *

The days following the defeat of the Mandalorian’s had been largely about clean up. Once word of their defeat had reached Coruscant there had been a emergency session of congress where it was decided a mass disarmament of the Mandalorian’s would be implemented. This included their armour, weapons and basilisk war droids. When they had been informed of this, the majority had given up their armaments after being ordered to do so by their new Mandalore, while some had fled. Revan had humoured it for the most part as there were very few and would likely not be a threat. The Mandalorian fleet itself was largely sent to salvage yards to be dismantled, but some Revan had delayed in passing on as she had other plans for them. 

There had also been contact from various people including the Chancellor and the Jedi Council. The former had praised them all, and her specifically, for their efforts in defeating the Mandalorian’s and had even invited Revan to speak with him once she returned to Coruscant. While she did not refuse she could sense the obvious intent coming from the Chancellor to use her victory for his own ends. While she was glad he had supported her during the war, especially by putting her in charge of the military, she had a feeling that she could not trust him. Meanwhile, the Jedi Council had left a message with her and other Revanchists calling for them all to return to Coruscant for judgement. Revan had almost let out a laugh when she head first heard the message, but had managed to refrain herself as the message had come through in front of the entire bridge of the Vast Veldt. She had passed on the message to every Jedi who had not received it directly but, so far, everyone she had spoken to had voiced their continued support of her and that they would stay as long as needed: all apart from one.

Meetra had made a full recovery in the last few days. However, while she was physically fit and able, through the Force she was still a gaping wound and had continued to behave just as emotionless as when the two had spoken previously. Meetra had also been very blunt with Revan, stating that she blamed herself for being so easily manipulated by Revan and her charms. Despite trying to re-assure her, Meetra did not want to hear any excuses. Instead she had explained she would be returning to the Jedi Council on Coruscant to face them for the atrocities they had all committed during this war. Alek had spoken up against this, saying that it would be better if they eliminated her rather than let the Council use her against them as an example of why they should not have gone to war. Revan had ignored his protests, explaining that she was already dead. While she did not believe what she had said it had managed to convince Alek. She hoped her friend would recover if she had time away from war and also had a feeling that Meetra held some importance in the future despite what had happened. The whole ordeal had left Revan with a very dark cloud surrounding her as while she had numerous very loyal followers, she felt like she no longer had someone she could speak to as a friend.

Meanwhile she had continued to sense the ‘threat’ that Mandalore had hinted to and it only seemed to be growing louder in the Force. Whatever it was she believed was centred somewhere in the Unknown Regions. As such she had implemented a plan to take some of her most loyal followers with her on a quest into that part of space to discover what this threat was. She only hoped they could defeat whatever it may be.


	5. Episode II: Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In a final bloody battle over Malachor V the Mandalorians have been defeated. However a deadlier threat is still on the horizon. With the battered and bruised Galactic Republic completely unprepared for another war, former Jedi Knight’s Revan and Alek investigate a lead given by the defeated warrior race. On the icy world of Rekkiad they hope to discover its mystery’s and the true nature of the threat they face.

The shuttle shook as the icy storm raging outside battered against its armour plating. The frozen world of Rekkiad was an icy desert with barely any lifeforms and almost nothing of note apart from the twin ice columns that jutted several kilometres out of its surface. The Twin Peaks looked completely alien on this barren world, suggesting their less than natural construction. At the top of each was a flat surface which Revan had ordered the pilot to land upon.

Following the defeat of the Mandalorians, Revan had done some investigating including on Mandalore itself. There she had spoken to some of the people working in what passed as their government and had discovered records of a mysterious emissary that had visited the planet. There had also been rumours that Mandalore the Ultimate had spent some time with this emissary including travelling to Rekkaid. Following this she had spoken to those closer to Mandalore and all of them had said that his motivations and plans had changed dramatically following meeting this mysterious emissary. Revan had come to the conclusion that this emissary was some kind Force sensitive being that had manipulated Mandalore into starting the war with the Republic. The very last person she had spoken to, a man who had assisted in the financial aspects of Mandalorian society, had revealed something extremely interesting about the emissary: his red skin. Alarm bells had rung in her head immediately as she had recalled what the defeated Mandalore had told her moments before his death and she had immediately rushed to travel to Rekkiad.

Alek was also currently on the shuttle with her and had barely spoken a word since she had asked him to come with her. Following the Battle of Malachor V he had become increasingly distant and Revan hoped that she would be able to reconcile with him somewhat if she involved him more in her plans. Prior to the war the two had been almost inseparable. However as it had progressed the two had gradually become more withdrawn, mostly out of necessity as they were often needed in separate parts of the galaxy, but also due to increasingly different views. Now she hoped that including Alek more in what she was doing would help pull him back from the dark path he had started down. The war had impacted all the Jedi that had joined the war to a degree but it effects were more obvious with Alek. He had always been headstrong to begin with and quite quick to anger, certainly not the typical Jedi, and so the trials of war had impacted him greatly. Looking at him now, Revan could see he was almost deliberately trying to avoid her gaze. As the shuttle slowed its descent and made its way to land on top of one of the spires she attempted to break the ice between them, so to speak, or at the very least the silence.

“What do you think we’re going to find down there?”

It took a few moments before he finally looked at her and responded: “Nothing good”.

“I don’t know, there could be a tribe of ice nymphs down there who will worship us as God’s”

Despite the tension between them Alek let out a laugh: “That _would_ be nice: a good place to retire from the galaxy”.

“Are you alright, Alek?” Revan enquired. “I know you did not like what happened aboard Mandalore’s ship”.

“I didn’t” Alek answered back. “While I understand why you what you did, I wish you would tell me about these things. It’s feels like you don’t trust me anymore”.

“I do trust you Alek. It was just a part of my past that I don’t like sharing, although now everyone knows that I’m just another ‘Mando’a bitch’”. Revan sighed, “I do want us to work together, like we did at the start of the war. At some point in that bloody war it seemed I took on the role of Revan and forgot who I really am, and the impact it would have on my friends. I have very few left”. Her thoughts turned to Meetra before she quickly pushed them away. “I do worry about what this war has done to us”.

“We’ve come through it stronger” Alek answered. “And we would have never discovered this ‘threat’ if we hadn’t. I know I’ve been distant, but I still believe in you Revan: I want you to know that”.

“Thanks”. Looking up she could see that the shuttle had landed and so she got to her feet. “Ready for another adventure?”

Smirking back at her Alek replied: “Always”.

It had not taken them long to discover an entrance of sorts into the enormous spires. Inside there were hallways and rooms that had been extremely well preserved, likely due to the frozen climate of the planet itself. The intricate hallways were a maze of complete darkness, all except for the colourful light provided by their lightsabers. While obviously of alien origin, Revan had already noticed similarities with the ancient ruins they had discovered previously on Korriban, including markings with the same language. Revan had studied the language extensively and, with her natural affinity to learn and interpret them, could decipher the text written on the walls well enough to understand it. The text appeared to tell a story of sorts, about the grand exploits of a man who was often referred to as a Godlike figure. All of it appeared to be written in the past tense, suggesting that this place must be a place dedicated to him after his death or possibly even a tomb of some kind like those on Korriban.

“Revan” Alek called from town the hallway. “You’ve got to see this”.

Rushing down the hallway she stepped through the doorway finding an enormous open space, with light appearing to shine through its walls. She could not tell if the walls themselves were ice, or simply made to appear that way, but it cast an incredible cyan light across the space. In front of them were long walkways running from one side of the spire to the other, with a circular level at its centre that appeared to have gears and other mechanical workings built into it. The walkways themselves appeared to be made from ice once again, yet Revan was again unsure if that actually was the case.

Taking a tentative step she placed one foot onto the walkway, followed by the other, hoping that it could take her weight. After a moment of standing still and realising she had not plummeted to her death, she continued to make her way towards the centre. Alek followed soon after, taking his own cautious steps. At the centre, the two of them quickly deduced that central platform could likely be raised or lowered. However there were no obvious buttons or levers to activate, but at the very centre of the contraption were words written on a golden tablet in the same tongue as the rest of the tomb.

“Do you have any idea what it says?” Alek questioned.

“A little. The language uses a great deal of derivative suffixes” Revan answered.

“In basic please” Alek answered, dryly.

“Basically one word can be an entire sentence. Look here” she said, pointing to one very long word. “This translates roughly as ‘spill of the blood two of darkness’, and this word is ‘peril of dark abysses”.

“’Peril of dark abysses’? Sounds fun” Revan shook her head at Alek’s sarcasm before reading more. Alek continued. “You don’t suppose this platform is activated with blood?”

“It does seem likely” she answered. “Is there a small basin anywhere around the edge?”

Alek set about looking for one. The platform itself was almost completely flat with no obvious raised areas apart from the tablet at the centre. However, there were intricate patterns carved into its service which, on closer inspection, streamed their way towards the gears and mechanisms at its edges. Following one stream Alek found that it ended in a small area shaped like a hand. Quickly skimming his eyes across the platforms service he could see that another stream ended in another hand across from him.

“I think this is it” he exclaimed, gesturing to the hand in front of him and the one across.

Revan came over, crouching down to have a closer look, before nodding, “While this wonderful contraption does require our blood, it also mentions ‘heart of the dark’. I think we can guess what that means”.

“It needs us to use the dark side” Alek answered.

“From the text it appears to be more than that, although I am not sure what exactly. Are you up for finding out?” Revan spoke with a grin. Putting her hands behind her back she pulled out two throwing knives before handing one to Alek.

“You just carry these around, do you?” he asked, looking at her with amusement.

“You know I like catching people by surprise. Besides, I am Mandalorian, so what do you expect?”

“Very true. So what exactly are we doing exactly?”

“I think we are going to have to tap into the dark side of course, but I have a feeling that we need to do more than that. We will likely need to bring all of our dark emotions, desires and feelings to the surface”. Gesturing to the tablet again Revan continued, “I believe that was supposed to be a riddle of sorts. What I can make sense of roughly translates as ‘Spill of the blood two of darkness, as did the one’s that came before who did bath in the destiny of darkness. With light comes the peril of dark abysses, with dark comes the reward of icy depths. The darkness within judged to be true’”.

“You sure you aren’t just making this stuff up?” Alek mumbled. “Look, I’ll trust whatever you decide. You know I was always terrible at this sort of thing”.

“Which thing?” Revan responded sardonically, “Riddles, history, or giant, ancient, dark side tombs?”

Alek grunted, “Take your pick”.

Revan paused a moment before continuing: “I think we will truly have to become one with the dark side and, only then, can we make an offering of blood”. Looking to Alek with a very serious look on her face she continued, “I believe this contraption will not be fooled by anything other than the truth”.

“How are we going to stop ourselves from embracing the dark side fully?” Alek questioned.

“Hope” Revan answered with a grimace.

Nodding Alek made his way to one of the hand symbols and knelt down besides it. Across from him Revan followed suit and removed one of her gloves. Looking to Alek one last time, he nodded before closing his eyes. Revan did the same and began to meditate. She felt the Force swirling around her immediately as the hurricane it always was. She had often been told as a Padawan how the Force was unusually strong with her, however to her the hurricane had always felt more like an enormous blanket enveloping and protecting her. What she was about to do would turn that blanket to ice around her whilst at the same time making it flow through her like a drug: the dark side was after all the ultimate high.

Concentrating she did the complete opposite of what she had been taught as a Jedi during meditation and brought all of her darkest emotions to the forefront of her mind. With everything that had happened in this war and her recent dalliances into the light and dark side of the Force, Revan did so with ease. Focusing on all of the anger she had felt during the war, at what had happened to Meetra, the fear she felt of this new, unknown threat and anything else she could think of and channelled it into herself. The blanket had become a bitter tomb around her before it streamed through her. At the edge of her consciousness she could feel the glowing, seething darkness of Alek steadily building until it became an overwhelming fog.

Revan just about managed to keep enough power over herself to scream at Alek through her mind with all she could “Now!”

Thankfully the cry slipped through the fog and both simultaneously cut their palms, letting their blood fall into the hand shaped basins below. A few moments after the blood had hit the surface a loud boom sounded, echoing around the ruin. Meanwhile their blood offerings began to worm their way along the streams on the platform floor, leaving a path of red light along its wake. It gradually made its way towards the centre and, as the two met, a single beam of red light shot upwards to the very top of the ruin. With an almighty whine, the gears from the machinery clunked back into life and the central platform began to lower.

Keeping her eyes closed Revan concentrated on dissipating the darkness around her, concentrating on bringing the light side back into her once more. Whilst far more difficult than anything she had tried before, she managed to focus on all of the good she had done in the war, the lives she had saved so that she could balance out the darkness. The tomb that the Force had become began to crack around her before slowly and surely its wall began being swept up in the warm hurricane. Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes and stared in wonder at the ruins around her as the platform continued its descent. The lighting coming through the walls shone the intricate carvings and statues lining the peaks walls.

“This is incredible” Revan said. However she soon sensed something very wrong and, turning to Alek, she realised that he was still kneeling over the basin staring off into space. Through the Force she realised that the darkness was still entombed around him and he was having difficulty breaking free from it. She swiftly made her way over to him, calling his name but getting no signs of a response. On instinct she rolled her bare hand into a fist and punched Alek in the side of his face. The force of the blow knocked Alek’s face to the side and his eyes looked up to her with a menace she had never seen directed at her before, before they slowly faded away.

“Alek?” Revan asked tentatively.

“I’m alright” he responded breathlessly. Rubbing where she had hit, he looked to Revan, “Did you punch me?”

“It was the first thing I could think of doing” she answered with a wry smile. She could sense that the darkness around Alek had now gone thankfully.

“Of course punching me would be the first thing you’d think of”.

“Well it worked. Maybe I should do it more often” she jokingly replied, before turning serious again. “I think I need to teach you how to use your dark emotions without getting lost in them”.

Alek did not respond as he got to his feet while the platform continued its slow journey deeper into the spire. As it did the light inside grew dimmer until the two of them became shrouded in shadow once again. This continued until it became far too dark to see, however the two could feel that they were entering an enclosed area. Soon after the platform stopped with an almighty thud. Activating their sabers once again they found themselves surrounded by extremely high walls with a single entrance. The two made their way towards this finding a long hallway with a light shining from the other end. Following this light, they eventually found themselves in a room lined with valuable metals and artifacts surrounding a very large and elaborately decorated sarcophagus.

“Whoever this was, they must have been important” Alek remarked.

“Very”, Revan answered, examining one of the many artefacts in the room. The two set about investigating the room and quickly realised that the valuables contained within this room would probably be worth billions of credits. However, despite the wealth littered around, Revan found herself being drawn elsewhere or, more specifically, to a pillar around two metres tall forged from a shining, golden metal of some kind. Looking more closely she spotted the same carving of a hand on its surface that had been on the platform. Feeling herself being drawn to it, she placed her own hand over the carving and pushed at it with the Force, causing a panel to open above it. Inside she could see a shining red light and at its centre an intricate red cube: an ancient holocron.

Revan could feel the power emanating from the holocron, as well as the darkness around it. Grasping the object she then reached out with the Force causing the cube to levitate above her hand before the mechanisms holding it together opened. A flash of light followed before a projected image of the galaxy shone around the room. A voice then spoke, low and masculine, in the same language as what had been written around the tomb. Revan managed to follow most of what was said, she hoped, with the holocron mentioning an ancient empire as well as a planet in the Outer Rim that was specifically highlighted on the galaxy map. She did not recognise the planet or the name that the holocron had given to it, only that some kind of powerful ritual had taken place there. Summoning the holocron back to herself she looked to Alek.

“We have our next destination”

“Am I to assume the holocron had the answers we seek?” her friend asked.

“Not all of them, but enough”

“I hope it’s not as… frigid as this planet” Alek retorted.

“No promises. There is one last thing I want to do first however”. Reaching behind her to the small bag she had been carrying with her, she pulled out the mask of Mandalore. Returning to the pillar she placed the mask within and sealed it once more. She promised herself that one day she would return for the mask if need be, especially as the Mandalorian’s no longer had a leader. Maybe they would need her help some day to restore them to glory: or perhaps she would need them.


End file.
